Philosophy – Page 7

Prometheus Weeps

David V Stewart January 30, 2014 January 30, 2014Creative non-fiction, Philosophy 0

Prometheus charged Olympus and stole the fire. He brought it to his creation, man, to help him in a cold, dark, and deadly world. When man was handed the flame, he looked upon it, beautiful and bright. It lit the world around him, and at last he could see his surroundings. There were frightening sights, of sharp rocks and strange beasts, and trees that loomed over him like monsters. Man threw the fire into the mud. He crushed the torch with his heel. “Why did you do that?” Prometheus asked, trying to gather the…

Inequality in America

David V Stewart January 20, 2014 January 20, 2014Creative non-fiction, Economics, Philosophy, politics 0

I’ve seen the above video linked quite a bit on social networks during the recent past, and while I don’t usually stop to pick up every pebble in the road, I felt a little compulsion to do so with this bit of misinformation today. I don’t have time to debunk the many, many problems in this video, so I’ll just hit the big points. The first and most important is the sources, which are not sources of actual data, and he mixes them inappropriately, producing a graphic that is factually inaccurate. He also mixes the terms “money,” “wealth,” and “income”…

Future Crime: The Moral Difficulties of Indeterminate Consequentialism

David V Stewart January 7, 2014 January 7, 2014Economics, Ethics, Non-fiction, Philosophy, politics 0

http://youtu.be/wEkIJb12GVA Above is a video I made as a companion to this piece for those who prefer speaking and video to reading. The content covers the same rough areas but is spoken in different words. The essay begins below. “Future crime” is not a term of my own making; it’s one I lifted from the Spielberg movie “Minority Report,” which was based on a Phillip Dick story of the same name. In it, there are three mutants who are able to see the future, specifically murders, which are most disturbing to them. The police react to these visions by…

A Gross Oversimplification of Monetary Theory Through Hypothetical Monetary Systems

David V Stewart October 29, 2013 October 29, 2013Economics, Non-fiction, Philosophy, politics 0

Monetary theory: everyone’s favorite dinner topic? Probably not. Monetary theory can seem complicated to a non-economist, and even when it is understood by parties over dinner, it is likely to fall into the two most forbidden categories of conversation: religion and politics. I realize writing this that I am probably a terrible dinner party guest, an incorrigible lunch time acquaintance, and a downright nuisance at family functions, because religion and politics is the only thing I really prefer to talk about. Well, from my perspective it’s philosophy and truth, and I consider politics merely the game of sociopaths and the…

A Little Bit on Anecdotes

David V Stewart October 8, 2013 October 8, 2013Economics, Ethics, Non-fiction, Philosophy, politics 0

I came across a plea today on Facebook, asking for people to send to a particular individual stories about the negative impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), colloquially called “Obamacare,” for the president who signed it into law. I pointed out that anecdotes are not good evidence, and I had objections to their use as such, since I feel it is emotionally manipulative and therefore not totally truthful. I was met by a lot of opinions counter to my own. The arguments were fairly varied, there were some ad hominem attacks, but most seemed to take my use of…

More Words That Emanate From the Hindquarters of Male (Genetically Modified) Cattle

David V Stewart September 27, 2013 September 27, 2013Creative non-fiction, Economics, Philosophy, politics, satire 0

1. GMO/Monsanto/etc. Let’s be honest, most people who post on Facebook about Monsanto (you know who you are) have no flipping clue what they are talking about; they’ve never set foot on a farm and have no concept of how the food industry works. They have probably never seen a live domesticated chicken (hint: was it white?), or have no idea what the fertilization process of corn is. Unless you eat exclusively wild game, all the food you eat is genetically modified. ALL OF IT. Cows didn’t just evolve into oversized meat-bags producing an excess of milk. Those phenotypes were carefully…

The Heartbeat of the Emperor

David V Stewart September 11, 2013 September 11, 2013Creative non-fiction, Ethics, Philosophy, politics 0

Twelve years and thousands of lives later, the war drums of the empire beat no more softly than they did when shifting face of the oligarchy was turned upon its own wounds. It is the heartbeat of the emperor: vain, ceaseless, changeless, and unwilling to go gently into the night and allow men to be free. The noble, gods unto themselves, play games with the lives of lesser men, with pride their only prize. Honor and glory call the freemen to bind themselves and give their sword to those who would be kings. The thrall tend the fields, fighting for…

Political Philosophy 2: Rights and Responsibilities, pt. 1

David V Stewart August 19, 2013 August 19, 2013Non-fiction, Philosophy, politics 0

I. Introduction Moving beyond the basic nature of human beings is the extension of rights that we ascribe to them, and the nature of those rights depends greatly on or view of the relationship of one man to another, and in a larger sense, one man to all men (or man to society). As an American, the sensibility of rights is something that is nearly bred into us, a persistent word found in countless messages about our country, our history, and our neighbors that we have heard since birth. Despite the prevalence of the word, the concepts that back…

Political Philosophy 1: Human Nature

David V Stewart August 11, 2013 August 11, 2013Non-fiction, Philosophy, politics 0

At the heart of every philosophy is a set of assumptions or conclusions on the nature of human beings and what guides their thoughts and behaviors. It is perhaps too simplistic to dichotomize views on human nature, but as part of my own general view on humanity I understand that we understand our world through categorization, so on some level lines must be drawn, even on things which may not have a clear delineation of one position to the next. Typically, discussions of human nature revolve around whether we are “good” or…

Category: Philosophy